Dubai: Asus’s new ultra-thin laptop — ZenBook UX303 — is a premium 13.3-inch device. The ZenBook looks much the same as its previous models from the outside. It is a traditional laptop and not a convertible.
The Full HD IPS device is powered by Intel Skylake i7 dual-core processor coupled with Nvidia GeForce 940M graphics processor with a 2GB memory and 8GB of RAM. It weighs around 1.45kg.
It offers a very good luminance, good contrast and 178-degree wide-viewing angle. The nominal clock speed is 2.5GHz but can be raised up to 3.1GHz via Turbo Boost.
The ultrabook chassis is made of aluminium, has no rough or sharp edge, and further enhanced by spun-metal finish. The front side of the laptop is tapered to just 3mm to make it thin.
The display is richer, deeper colours and stunning visuals whether you’re watching videos and movies, playing games or browsing through your photos.
It has 1TB of Hard Disk drive, split into two portions. The laptop is pretty fast and can handle games with ease despite being quiet.
The backlit chicklet-style keyboard is decent and with good spacing between the keys and ample travel space. The ambient-light sensor technology, the keyboard backlight adjusts automatically to suit the ambient lighting, so you’ll always be able to see the keys, even in complete darkness. The keyboard has tiny cursor arrows and as wide as the right Shift key.
The trackpads on ZenBook used to be a sore point but the model has a very good trackpad but still not enough as some of the models in the market.
The power button is in the top right corner of the keyboard, obliging you to change your aim a bit when tapping the Delete key.
The HD Webcam is decent enough for video conferencing.
The bottom-firing stereo speakers, credited with having Bang & Olufsen technology, are quite loud and passably full once you play with the Asus control panel’s Equalizer settings. The speakers are louder than average but it is not fuller than average.
Regarding connectivity, it has 3 USB 3.0 ports, full-size HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0, Intel’s latest WiFi card, mini DisplayPort, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a SD card slot but no USB-C port. The box contains ‘USB-to-Ethernet adapter and a mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter’.
The software bundle contains Evernote, obligatory Microsoft Office trial, WPS Office, 16GB of Asus cloud storage and 25GB of Dropbox capacity. The ‘Eye care Switcher’ utility slightly dims the screen and reduces blue light for lengthy work sessions without eyestrain headaches.
The battery lasted for close to 5.30 hours in WiFi test and in 1080p video test, it lasted for close to 5.4 hours. In maximum brightness, it lasted for close to two hours. It is priced at Dh3,999 and comes in Smoky Brown, Icicle Gold and Rose Gold colours.
Pros
• Latest WiFi card
• All-metal design
• Good keyboard
• Dedicated graphics card
• Ethernet and VGA dongles included
Cons
• No USB-C port
• A bit heavier
• The processor is not as fast as expected
• No solid state drive
• Mediocre battery life
